Drug delivery devices are commonly implanted in a patient for long-term administration of drugs. These devices generally include a chamber with a self-sealing silicone septum and a catheter attached to the chamber and positioned for delivery of the drug to a suitable location, for example, into a vein. The chamber contains the drug for delivery to the patient through the catheter and is implanted such that the septum is located just under the skin of the patient. In order to access the chamber, the patient's skin and the septum of the drug delivery device are pierced using a needle and the drug is introduced into the chamber by injection using a syringe or other delivery device.
Conventional hypodermic needles are not used for the introduction of a drug to a drug delivery device for various reasons including, for example, the possibility that these needles can damage the septum. Instead, specially designed needles are used to pierce the skin and the septum. These needles include a right angle bend (approximately a ninety degree bend) for convenient access to the chamber and are designed to inhibit coring of the septum and ensure penetration of the skin and septum at approximately ninety degrees. The needles are appropriately sized to access the chamber of the device. A portion of the needle lies approximately parallel with the surface of the skin of the patient, to allow the needle to be taped down.
The needles are typically disposable and are discarded after only one use. The handling and disposal of the used needles is hazardous due to the potential risk of being injured by the sharp end of the needle. This is particularly dangerous because the needle may be contaminated and therefore capable of spreading diseases such as hepatitis and HIV, for example. A safety device for reducing injury or contamination resulting from contact with a used needle is therefore desirable.